West Ham United to miss out on £35m Manuel Locatelli move as Fabrizio Romano drops transfer update
West Ham United manager David Moyes did a superb job in strengthening his squad in the summer transfer window.
It looked certain to be a difficult few months given club captain Declan Rice had left for Premier League rivals Arsenal.
But the gap he left in midfield was replaced by James Ward-Prowse and Edson Alvarez, who joined from Southampton and Ajax respectively.
As per TuttoJuve (27 October), the Hammers were ready to sign yet another midfielder in the form of Manuel Locatelli, with West Ham prepared to pay Juventus £34.8million for his services.
But that potential move is now dead in the water amid a fresh update from transfer specialist Fabrizio Romano. The journalist has reported via his personal Twitter account (1 November) that Locatelli will sign a new deal at Juventus until 2028.
It is, therefore, one that Moyes can quickly forget about. The manager must turn elsewhere if indeed he does have plans to further bolster his midfield options.
Summer arrivals Ward-Prowse and Alvarez have immediately hit the ground running at the London Stadium, but the initial success that they helped the Hammers achieve has fizzled in recent weeks.
The East London club have now lost their last three matches in all competitions, and are without a win in their last four.
Perhaps a new face or two in the January transfer window can inject a new lease of life into the Hammers, but Juventus and Italian ace Locatelli will not be on his way to the London Stadium anytime soon.
In other West Ham news, Hammers scouts are in action already with a new South American transfer on the cards in January.